A $189 million bank bungle has made November pension checks disappear for 60,000 retired city teachers and school administrators, officials said yesterday. Bank of New York Mellon promised to quickly restore the missing millions to retirees' accounts - but at day's end, teachers were not only without their cash but shocked that a bank could grab back their hard-earned money. "What's scary to me is that somebody had the ability to do this from so many accounts. Who has this access?" said Louise Weisbord, an Upper West Side resident and retired Brandeis HS teacher. Bank officials said they hoped to put back all the money over the weekend. Bank of New York Mellon also promised to reimburse retirees for overdraft fees or other costs they incur because of its mistake. Some retirees' money was returned by yesterday afternoon. At least two banks, Citibank and Chase, managed yesterday to restore all the money taken from their customers, sources said. "BNY Mellon fully appreciates the importance of reliable, accurate service in connection with bank accounts, and understands and regrets the complications this error has created for the retirees," the bank said. City Comptroller Bill Thompson and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew demanded that Bank of New York Mellon officials explain themselves at an upcoming meeting of Teachers' Retirement System trustees. Mistakes in electronic bank transfers are governed by federal law, and banking regulators were monitoring the situation, a government source said. A spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had no comment. Several days ago, the teachers' pension fund - overseen by Thompson's office - gave Bank of New York Mellon $189 million for electronic deposit into retirees' accounts. The funds were deposited into the accounts at banks around the country by Monday, retirees and the city said. But Thursday night or early yesterday morning, Bank of New York Mellon issued an electronic order to pull back the pension deposits. Thousands of teachers caught the mistake when they checked their accounts yesterday morning. Harriet Kilstein, a retired teacher from James Madison HS in Midwood, Brooklyn, said $2,700 was gone from her account at Chase. When Kilstein, a Florida resident, called Chase to ask about the problem, she was told other retirees were in the same situation. "The bank said all the checks have been taken back, and it's going to be a mess," she said. Lots of retirees also called their union. "We are outraged about the situation," Mulgrew said. "I'm sure there are people who have a hardship because of this," Mulgrew said. "We are going to do what needs to be done to protect them and to make them whole." Many school retirees have pensions that put them at or below poverty level, said Ernie Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators. "People don't need this extra burden of angst in their life," he said. "You would think that after years of public service, you would be able to retire peacefully without having the aggravation of worrying whether you will eat today or not." WHOOPS! MONDAY Bank of New York Mellon deposits November pension checks totaling $189 million into the accounts of 60,000 retired teachers and schools administrators. LATE THURSDAY or EARLY YESTERDAY Bank of New York Mellon removes the deposits from all accounts. QUOTE "BNY Mellon fully appreciates the importance of reliable, accurate service in connection with bank accounts, and understands and regrets the complications this error has created for the retirees." - Bank statement

Originally published by BILL SANDERSON.

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